Francona is seeing Stars before his eyes

SEATTLE - When informed that five of his players were leading at their positions in the first release of All-Star voting yesterday, Terry Francona decided to play a game. He wanted to guess the names. Turns out he could. Almost.

Forgetting about the imposing presence of Alex Rodriguez at third base, Francona correctly listed Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, Manny Ramírez, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia (though he went with either Pedroia or Mike Lowell).

And, being the manager of the American League squad for the game July 15, he's quite happy to see them all there.

"I hope that because of our success and because of our popularity we're going to have a lot of guys that get votes," he said. "That part's great. I hope they vote everybody in. The hard part then will be trying to get pitchers. That'll be the second team meeting I've had in four years."

The first occurred before the last All-Star Game Francona managed, back in 2005, when Mike Timlin and Matt Clement were initially left off the roster. Clement eventually made it as a replacement.

But for Francona, the voting also means something else - work. He and bench coach Brad Mills took it as a sign that they should start in on their lists of potential All-Stars, so they're prepared when the deadlines come. The most difficult parts are making sure every club is represented, deciding on 12 pitchers, and following up on those hard-luck cases who aren't selected.

"From now on it won't be casual," Francona said. "We'll get serious about it. We kind of know how we want to go about it. It's not that tough as long as we stay on top of it, because pretty much everything is out of our hands. The only thing that comes down to us is cleaning up the mess because of the way the voting is. You get stuck cleaning stuff up, is basically what it is.

"You know there will be some phone calls that need to be made to people that don't [make the team] because they deserve to, but because of rules they won't or can't. We'll take care of that."

In addition to the five Red Sox, the AL leaders are Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, and Vladimir Guerrero.

But will it be awkward for Francona to be the AL manager for the final All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium? Especially with a team that might be heavy with Red Sox?

"Better?" Francona joked. "It'll be an unbelievable All-Star Game to be at. Think of it, it's the last one in Yankee Stadium. I can't imagine a whole lot of fans being thrilled that we're going to be sitting in their dugout. But that probably just adds to it."

Lugo, Francona ejected

Shortstop Julio Lugo and Francona were ejected in the fifth inning. "Check, check." That was all Lugo claimed he said, referring to a 1-and-0 pitch to Raul Ibanez. When Lugo noticed Angel Hernandez looking at him, he asked the third base umpire what he was staring at. Lugo said he had nothing personal against Hernandez. Francona, meanwhile, appeared flummoxed by the situation, saying he didn't go on the field to get thrown out. "It's not fair," he said. "I didn't say anything."

Youkilis out again

Youkilis sat out a second straight game because of the injury to the back of his right hand, with Sean Casey taking his place at first base against the Mariners last night. Youkilis got an X-ray yesterday as a precautionary measure. It came out negative. But he is still unsure how the injury happened. Youkilis did say before the game that he felt better, and that might mean a return to the starting lineup tonight against lefthander Erik Bedard. The first baseman struggled on the first leg of the trip, going 0 for 11 in Oakland. But Francona pointed out that, given the dimensions of McAfee Coliseum, Youkilis did actually drive some balls well.

Crisp a trouper

Coco Crisp was given the start last night in center field after Jacoby Ellsbury had started the previous two games. Both players started Saturday in Oakland, with Ramirez being given the night off. "He's been great," Francona said of Crisp. "He came in, talked the other day about it. I know how he feels. I respect how he feels. I also respect how he's handled it. That's kind of where we are." Crisp has also spoken with general manager Theo Epstein about his situation. But right now, there's not a lot the club can do, with few options for a fourth outfielder in the system. Brandon Moss is coming off an appendectomy. Bobby Kielty was just reinstated from Pawtucket's disabled list. He was transferred to Single A Lancaster yesterday. He had surgery on his left hand in April.

Lester honored

Jon Lester shared honors for AL Player of the Week with Detroit's Magglio Ordonez. Lester went 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts. Of course, that included his no-hitter against the Royals. Ramirez and Youkilis have also been Player of the Week this season . . . The Brewers made it official yesterday, signing Julian Tavarez. He pitched one scoreless inning last night against the Braves, with a strikeout . . . With the day off tomorrow, the Red Sox will give their pitchers an extra day off instead of shifting the rotation. They did the same when the doubleheader against the Brewers forced them to insert an extra pitcher (Justin Masterson) last week.

Schilling on target

Curt Schilling continues to make progress toward throwing a bullpen a week from Friday. Though Francona insisted that he had given a vague date for Schilling to throw, the pitcher himself gave it two weeks from last Friday . . . Ramirez was well aware that he had reached the 2,000-game plateau Monday night. He invited everyone - players and media - to a party in his hotel room to commemorate the event. Apparently, the gathering didn't go as well as he had hoped, since he was extending a second invitation yesterday - to a party for his 2,001st game . . . Francona on the ninth inning of last night's 4-3 loss to the Mariners with Mike Timlin on the mound: "Walk Ichiro. We're trying to make [Jose] Lopez beat us. And he beat us. That's the right thing to do and it didn't work out." . . . Timlin is 0-6 with a 10.29 ERA at Safeco Field.